Fine mist, like silver threads, veiled Mount Xi, concealing its core. Within the heartland, Yao Huo stood still, speaking softly.
Whether the numbers were large or small made little difference.
Once that dark palace was breached, his chances of seizing the sacred relic would be the greatest. After all, he was a ranked expert on the Realm Rankings.
Others were far inferior to him.
"The Hunter's Alliance, I will go forth. I believe no one will object. My reputation, Yun Miaomiao's, needs no further elaboration," the voluptuous and alluring young woman said, taking two steps forward. Her voice, which could melt bones, was surprisingly solemn. She continued,
"Sharing fortune, sharing hardship, has always been the principle our alliance upholds."
"I, Yun Miaomiao, will never betray your trust!"
Seeing her resolve, the people present clasped their fists:
"Leader, you need not say more. This is our duty. We will do our best to delay!"
Duan Xiao and the others cupped their hands in unison, signaling her to proceed with confidence.
They were not blinded by her beauty, but genuinely trusted Yun Miaomiao.
Though a woman, this grand leader of the Northwest Hunter's Alliance possessed uncommon ruthlessness. Her overwhelming allure had earned her the moniker of the most dangerous woman in the Northwest among the martial circles.
"Then the Northern Ridge will be my domain," the King of Linghai declared confidently, then boomed, "Rest assured, if I am the one who obtains the sacred relic's fortune in the end, I will not be stingy!"
"If I fail, I, the King of Linghai, will transfer thirty percent of the business within Linghai Dao to the respective clan leaders, calculated by head. Furthermore, anyone who joins my side and helps me delay within the mist will surely partake. I swear by the Heavenly Dao!"
The man's powerful voice instantly attracted many rogue cultivators.
In addition, some fifth-stage Domain Lords, unwilling to be mere stepping stones, nodded in silence.
Over the past three months in the Ghost Night Domain, they had paid a heavy price, their cultivation nearly falling. They were no match for the powerful Domain Lords vying for opportunities.
Rather than risking death and spiritual annihilation, it was better to stay put and claim tangible rewards. The promised thirty percent of Linghai King's business, divided among them, was indeed tempting.
Moreover, and crucially, if their clans did not agree and the Changsun family or other families did, they would face overwhelming suppression from those families in all aspects.
"We will, without reservation, fully support Lord Linghai!"
After consulting with his clan elders, Changsun Wuji nodded, agreeing to the decision.
...
"Yun Miaomiao and the King of Linghai represent the Hunter's Alliance and the major clans like the Changsun family, respectively."
"Ancestor Wang represents the Imperial City's side, and there are several other factions. You must decide on a representative quickly. I'll give you at most two minutes!"
Yao Huo sounded impatient. He then sat down again. After a minute of silence, those factions had made their decisions.
"Jin Dafu of the Jin Yin Merchant House, Daoist Chihuo of the Xuan Tian Sect, and that pair of Domain Lords, one tall and one small—their origins are unknown..."
The crowd was stunned. The Domain Lord experts chosen numbered twenty-three.
Excluding those not selected, this meant that among the two to three hundred ability users, nearly a third were Domain Lord experts!
"This is terrifying!" Yin Zhongxiu gasped, shocked.
In their Ghost Night Domain, there had been only one Lord for many years. Today, over a hundred Domain Lords had suddenly appeared, which was difficult to comprehend.
"That mist seems to be the same, whether it's day or night."
"Since the representatives have been decided, let's act now!"
With that, the man led the charge, his body transforming into a streak of light, stirring up a hurricane as he vanished from his spot.
The others, seeing this, hurried to follow. The sacred relic lay ahead, and they dared not relax.
"Senior, after tonight, we shall speak again!"
Changsun Wuji and the others clasped hands with Xu Mu, then quickly followed the main force towards the palace. Their task was to intercept the dangers lurking in the unknown mist.
"Kid, you're really lucky."
Yin Zhongxiu glanced back at Xu Mu, his voice weak. He had just recovered from the oppressive aura of Ancestor Wang, his body drenched in sweat.
The man hadn't expected that Yao Huo, a Realm Rankings expert, would intervene to protect Xu Mu at the last moment.
His stance was firm, and even Ancestor Wang dared not press further.
"Why did he call you senior?" the man asked curiously.
The gray-white pupil pondered for a moment, then replied seriously:
"Charisma, perhaps."
Three black lines appeared above Yin Zhongxiu's head. What charisma did this kid have? Could it be related to the Tree Dweller elder?
"Are you alright?" The Tree Dweller elder approached, looking at Xu Mu anxiously.
Since signing the contract with Xu Mu, though their interactions were few, he knew that Xu Mu's personality was completely opposite between day and night.
Even though the pills that could potentially heal his injuries were given by Xu Mu at night, he had arrived a little late today and was worried about being blamed.
"No matter," Xu Mu shook his head. "You performed well today. After we return from Mount Xi, I will give you the remaining six Emperor Pills."
Upon hearing this, the Tree Dweller elder was so overcome with emotion that he almost knelt down, tears streaming:
"Thank you, young master, for your grace!"
Yin Zhongxiu, standing nearby, was dumbfounded. Even having witnessed Xu Mu subdue the Tree Dweller elder, he found it hard to imagine a fourth-stage Lord willingly becoming a servant to a second-stage individual.
Although Xu Mu always did things beyond his expectations, such as returning alive from Mount Xi, achieving a first-class merit, and defeating Wang Jue... and now he was entangled with people from the Changsun family and the Hunter's Alliance, he was still only at the second stage.
Yet, the Tree Dweller elder appeared to be genuinely subservient?
"Yin Zhongxiu, can you still participate in the battle?"
With few people remaining, a fourth-stage Lord from the Demon Extermination Division, seeing Yin Zhongxiu still hesitating, called out loudly.
"Yes!"
The man replied immediately.
"Then hurry up. The Jin Yin Merchant House has also put forth a Domain Lord. Wu Ye is counted within the Wang family's faction, and we in the Demon Extermination Division have few people to deploy."
"Tree Dweller, you go with the Demon Extermination Division as well."
Upon hearing those words, the gray-white pupil suddenly spoke.
"But... don't I need to protect you here?"
"Of course not."
The gray-white pupil gazed in the direction Ancestor Wang had disappeared, his voice chilling:
"I have no intention of staying here."
"I will go into that mist as well."
...
Yao Huo and a group of top-tier fifth-stage Domain Lord ability users quickly reached their destination.
They gazed up at the black palace of unknown height, a sense of inexplicable dread rising in their hearts.
Countless powerful individuals had perished in this place. Emperor Xia himself had lost nearly a hundred thousand ability users quelling the Ghost Night rebellion here.
More crucially, this black palace was likely deeply connected to the Apocalypse Event. Faced with such an entity, even Yao Huo, at the fifth stage or half-step Human King realm, had no confidence.
Only if Realm Rankings experts descended simultaneously might they be able to resist to some extent.
"The restrictions on this place are not as strong as I imagined."
Without rashly attacking the gate, for the fallen Domain Lords served as a grim warning, they began to observe the palace.
"Thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five..."
Ancestor Wang, highly sensitive to time, spoke:
"We have now been here for thirty-six seconds, yet that legendary mist and the dangers within have yet to appear."
"Therefore, I suspect that the danger will only descend when we truly touch this palace."
This statement was highly plausible, and everyone nodded in agreement:
"It must be so."
"Who will go first?" the little girl holding a teddy bear asked, her large brown eyes blinking, clearly impatient.
"Whoever is strongest goes first," said the man beside her, who was as stout as an ox, clearly hinting at someone.
Upon hearing this, Yao Huo snorted:
"I, however, believe we should let the perception-type ability users go first. They are better at breaking formations."
"That makes sense, but there seem to be no perception-type ability users here."
They looked at each other, suddenly awkward.
Among the more than twenty Domain Lords present, not one was of the perception type or practiced formations. Those individuals had been left behind.
"Perhaps we should call one over from those people?"
Jin Dafu, the Domain Lord representing the Jin Yin Merchant House, spoke in a deep voice.
Less than a hundred meters behind them were the ability users from various factions left behind to guard. Among them, quite a few were of the perception type.
"He's here too."
Ancestor Wang's gaze swept across the crowd, and he discovered Xu Mu's figure.
He couldn't help but be surprised.
He had been surprised enough to see this second-stage brat appear at Mount Xi, and now he dared to follow them here.
In such a dangerous place, even he couldn't guarantee his own safety with absolute certainty. The mist was the most perilous area, and it was uncertain if the Tree Dweller could protect him.
"Find an opportunity, eliminate him!"
Ancestor Wang sent a telepathic message to Eunuch Huang at his side. Upon seeing Xu Mu, the latter understood.
"Yes!"
...
"He's here too. Find an opportunity to eliminate him."
Xu Mu, within the Celestial Palace, felt drowsy but had no intention of sleeping. Instead, he excitedly controlled his shadow, giving commands.
Not far in front of him was the eunuch who had previously attacked him, Eunuch Huang, who possessed the Poison Domain.
"You don't need to tell me."
The gray-white pupil met the man's gaze coldly, then averted his eyes, observing more intently.
He was constantly searching for that Demon God's soul but had yet to find it.
"You can't guess what he's doing now either?"
"I can't guess. We have been separated for billions of years; we are already two different entities."
The Demon God replied indifferently.
"Actually, for this kind of matter, you should seek out the divine beasts guarding this place."
"They have accompanied him here for billions of years, so they understand better than you or I."
Xu Mu's brow twitched, and he nodded:
"That makes sense."
"Then how do we find them?"
The gray-white pupil pondered for a moment, then cast his gaze upon the dark palace.
"If they are guardian divine beasts..."
"Wouldn't a single slash at it suffice?"
The young man thought to himself.
...